The Research estimates that global investments on C-RAN architecture networks will reach over $7 Billion by the end of 2016. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 20% between 2016 and 2020. These investments will include spending on RRHs (Remote Radio Heads), BBUs (Baseband Units) and fronthaul transport networking gear.

This study answers several questions for stakeholders, primarily which market segments they should focus upon during the next five years to prioritize their efforts and investments.

The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report.

The report has the following key findings:
– Expected to surpass $7 Billion in global spending by the end of 2016, C-RAN is increasingly becoming the preferred approach to deploy future mobile networks for both macro and small cell coverage. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 20% between 2016 and 2020.
– To alleviate stringent fronthaul requirements, an increasing number of C-RAN solutions are now utilizing RRHs with baseband capabilities, allowing some intelligence (primarily Layer 1 and Layer 2) to be distributed among RRHs, with Layer 3 functionality residing at centralized BBUs.
– The ongoing 5G race is expected to significantly boost C-RAN investments over the coming years. SNS Research estimates that over $1 Billion of all C-RAN architecture network investments will be directed towards 5G networks by the end of 2020.
– At present, most virtualized Cloud RAN investments are limited to trials and demonstrations. However, by the end of 2020, we expect that virtualized BBUs will account for over 6% of all C-RAN BBU investments.

The report provides answers to the following key questions:– How big is the C-RAN opportunity?
– What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?
– How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?
– What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?
– Which submarkets will see the highest percentage of growth?
– How can C-RAN facilitate the management of interference and LTE-Advanced features such as CoMP (Coordinated Multi-Point)?
– What are the prospects of wireless fronthaul technologies?
– Is Ethernet a feasible solution for fronthaul networking?
– How big is the market for virtualized Cloud RAN networks?
– Who are the key market players and what are their strategies?
– What strategies should C-RAN solution providers and mobile operators adopt to remain competitive?